A business’s best untapped resource for its brand is its own employees. They make up the faces that customers associate with a brand, whether negatively or positively. So, businesses should put their employees at the forefront of satisfaction efforts so they will want to become brand advocates.

Build Brand Loyalty

Building brand loyalty among employees isn’t an easy task and takes effort on management’s part. To do this, a business must take a look at the satisfaction of their own employees and identify ways to improve internal morale. If the employees aren’t happy, then it will most certainly affect the service they provide to external audiences.

To begin this task, build a survey where employees can express their true feelings about their work environment. Use questions related to them, not the business. For example, ask if employees are proud to work at the company or if they feel management understands their needs.

Once the surveys are complete, identify ways to improve and implement them. Then, re-survey the same employees in three months. Having regular survey results from employees will keep a team’s needs, wants and feels at the top of management’s mind.

Offer Referral Incentives

There is nothing more valuable to an employee than being recognized for referring someone to the business. If they truly value their work environment and believe in the brand, they won’t have a problem sharing the brand with friends or family members. Provide them with referral cards that they can hand out and can be credited back to them as the Referrer.

The referral incentive doesn’t have to be a large prize for every referral but could be a multi-referral gift.

Social Media Share Campaign

The biggest brand ambassador a business can have online is employees who engage and share the brand’s content. Upper management should regularly encourage their employees to share the brand’s promotions and posts with their friends.

A way to encourage social sharing is by hosting an employee share campaign. Tell your employees that if they go to the business social page and share that specific promotion, they will be entered for a chance to win a prize.

Share campaigns allow businesses to organically spread the word about promotions while having fun with the employees. It builds employee engagement satisfaction and brand awareness. Just remember to use this type of strategy for very specific promotions or offers that need lots of exposure.

The key to building brand advocates is consistency. Take time to listen to your employees and offer fun ways for them to get recognized for their hard work and dedication.